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Woman Denied Police Job Because She Was Taking Antidepressants Launches Legal Action
29 July 2023, 18:20
Laura Mackenzie said she was denied her "dream job" as a probationary officer in the Highlands. Picture: Alamy A woman whose job offer at Police Scotland was withdrawn after she revealed she is taking antidepressants is taking the force to court.
Laura Mackenzie said it was her "dream job" to become a probationary officer in Police Scotland's Highlands and Islands division.
After sailing through her interview, she was given a date for a medical and a uniform fitting.
At the medical Laura was asked about antidepressants - and had the job offer revoked when she said she was taking them.
The force has a "two-year rule", with probation officers required to be free of antidepressants for an extended period before they can be considered for employment.
Laura said she was "heartbroken" by the news - and is now taking Police Scotland to an employment tribunal.
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Police Scotland requires candidates to be off antidepressants for two years before employment. Picture: Alamy Although employment tribunals must normally be launched within three months, a judge has ruled that Laura's appeal can take place at a later date.
Police Scotland said it could not comment on the case.
Its occupational health provider, Optima Health, stated that a two-year rule does indeed apply.
Laura's lawyer said the case is part of a "bigger picture" about the treatment of mental health in the UK. Picture: Alamy Laura's lawyer Jay Lawson told BBC Scotland that her case is part of a "bigger picture".
He said: "This is a hugely important case for our client given everything she has been through but also for employees and candidates with disabilities who are discriminated against during the recruitment process.
"There is always a bigger picture in a case such as this, in relation to raising awareness."
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Antidepressants Can Put You At Risk Of Potentially Deadly Heat Stroke. Here's How To Stay Safe While Taking Them This Summer.
Heatstroke can make you dizzy, nauseous, and cause you to faint.Getty
Antidepressants can affect your body's ability to regulate heat and increase your risk of heatstroke.
Different types of antidepressants have different effects on your body's thermoregulation.
You can avoid heatstroke by drinking lots of fluids, using a fan, and staying out of the heat.
As temperatures hit record highs this summer, the 13.2% of Americans who use antidepressants need to take extra steps to make sure they stay cool.
Dr. Nial Wheate, associate professor of pharmacy at the University of Sydney, Australia, told Insider that antidepressants can affect the body's ability to regulate temperature, meaning it can't cool itself down in the usual ways – such as sweating and making you thirsty so you drink more water.
People on antidepressants are therefore much more likely to be heat intolerant, meaning they have an increased risk of heatstroke, fainting, and dehydration, according to Wheate.
Different types of antidepressants carry different risks in the heatWheate said there are different risks associated with different types of antidepressants.
Tricyclic antidepressants are an older type, which are usually prescribed if other treatments are ineffective.
"Tricyclic antidepressants can cause you to sweat less," Wheate said, "because they act as anticholinergics, which means they basically stop your sweat glands from producing sweat. We sweat to cool down, so if you're not sweating then you can't regulate your body temperature properly and you're likely to overheat."
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, on the other hand, make you sweat more. Wheate said that this might sound like a good thing because you can lose heat from that sweat, but it can actually lead to dehydration if you losing more water than you realize.
Both types of antidepressants increase your risk of heatstroke and heat-related illnessesHeat-related illnesses, such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion, occur when the body is unable to regulate its temperature, and can be damaging to the brain and other vital organs, which can't operate properly in high temperatures, according to the CDC.
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Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness, and happens when the body completely loses the ability to regulate heat and the sweating mechanism fails, so you are unable to cool down. This can cause disability or even death without emergency treatment.
Symptoms of heat stroke include: profuse sweating or hot dry skin, confusion and slurred speech, a very high body temperature, seizures, and loss of consciousness.
Keep cool to stay safe in the heatWheate said people shouldn't stop taking antidepressants even if they are worried about overheating, because "managing your depression is more important." Discuss the specific risks of your medication with your doctor or pharmacist if you're worried, he said.
He suggested having a fan blow over you if you're taking tricyclic antidepressants, so that even though you're sweating less, the sweat you are producing is more effective at wicking away heat from your body.
For those on SSRIs, Wheate said that drinking lots to replace lost fluids is the best thing you can do. But, he said, "you don't want to just drink water — you need to drink something salty or slightly sugary because when you sweat you don't just lose the water, you lose salts and sugars, and you need to replace those."
Read the original article on Insider
Woman Denied Police Scotland Job Over Antidepressants Policy
Image caption,Laura Mackenzie is taking action against Police Scotland because she believes she was discriminated against for taking antidepressant medication
An Inverness woman has launched legal action against Police Scotland after having a job offer withdrawn because she was taking antidepressants.
Laura Mackenzie had sailed through the recruitment process for her "dream job" to become a police officer.
But after reaching the stage of being sent for a medical and fitted for a uniform it was taken away.
Police Scotland's occupational health provider said a policy of two years free of the medication was in place.
The force said it could not comment on the case.
Ms Mackenzie was described by her recruiting officer as an "impressive" candidate when she applied to join Police Scotland in June 2019.
He also said her application to become a probationary officer in the Highlands and Islands division "stood out".
Ms Mackenzie was invited to attend an IQ test in Aberdeen and she spent evenings researching the job and studying practice books to improve her numeracy skills.
Recruitment Inspector Gavin Davidson issued her with a provisional offer of employment in November 2019 - with several conditions.
One was to be "certified by a registered medical practitioner approved by the police authority to be fit both physically and mentally to perform the duties of a police officer".
The letter noted that a failure to meet all or any of the conditions may result in her start date being deferred or the provisional offer being withdrawn.
In court papers lodged to request an employment tribunal, it was stated that Insp Davidson had called Ms Mackenzie to congratulate her.
Image source, Getty ImagesAbout a month later, Ms MacKenzie attended a medical ahead of an expected uniform fitting. There the occupational health nurse asked her about antidepressants.
Ms Mackenzie said that she had believed that by this time Police Scotland, or its occupational health advisors, Optima Health, would have had access to her medical records.
She said that she was taking an antidepressant drug for anxiety and depression.
The nurse consulted a colleague and then advised her of a "two year rule" stipulating that probationary police officers had to be free of antidepressant drugs for a period of two years before they could be considered for employment.
Ms Mackenzie said she was "heartbroken" by this after being transparent with Police Scotland about her health.
Insp Davidson called her and was said to be "shocked and apologetic" that she could not be passed fit for duty and that her application would be taken no further.
Wellbeing project
To make the situation worse Ms Mackenzie said the Highlands and Islands division announced, just weeks later, that it had secured funding for a three-year mental health and wellbeing project for officers and staff.
Police Scotland also confirmed a formal partnership with See Me, Scotland's programme to tackle mental health stigma and discrimination.
Ms Mackenzie went on to work as a nursing assistant in a psychiatric hospital.
But information she learned during her training and while seeking advice, together with a similar case reported by the Scottish Sun newspaper, prompted her to launch legal action.
Despite being outside the usual time limit for making a complaint, a judge ruled that an employment tribunal could hear Ms Mackenzie's case.
Employment cases normally must be brought within three months, but submissions made by Ms Mackenzie's legal team led Judge Russell Bradley to allow the case to proceed.
A preliminary hearing will now take place at a later date.
Image source, Getty ImagesMs Mackenzie's solicitor, Jay Lawson told BBC Scotland that this was one of a number of similar cases against Police Scotland, which he said was "worrying in itself".
Mr Lawson, from Dundee firm MML Law, added: "This is a hugely important case for our client given everything she has been through but also for employees and candidates with disabilities who are discriminated against during the recruitment process.
"There is always a bigger picture in a case such as this, in relation to raising awareness.
"Ms Mackenzie instructed us following seeing one of our other cases against Police Scotland and perhaps would not have pursued the case without seeing this."
Wendy Halliday, director of mental health charity See Me, told BBC Scotland: "While there's been real progress in recent years, we know that there is still work to do to address stigma and discrimination for Scotland's workers.
"We firmly believe that no one should be denied a role just because of their mental health, with no other consideration as to how they are, what they could bring to a role, or exploring reasonable adjustments, as required under the 2010 Equality Act, that would support them to carry out the role."
'Show leadership'
Lee Knifton, director of Mental Health Foundation in Scotland, said: "We can't comment on individual cases but we know that people living with mental health conditions are still facing discrimination.
"We need employers to show leadership and ensure that their recruitment and workplace practices do not negatively affect people living with mental health conditions.
"Around one in six adults live with a common mental health disorder and we are continually learning more about mental health, so any policies in this area should be reviewed regularly to ensure that outdated practices are curbed." A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "It would be inappropriate for us to comment at this stage."
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